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I have come to understand a deeper reason for how we tend to keep our spaces, whether that be our home, car, yard or desk. There is an energy at play. It reflects our state of being, our belief systems and our moods, even if we are not able to identify those. We may go between living in a relatively clean and tidy space for days, weeks or months, to allowing things to get messy or dirty and thus needing to undertake a major clean up. Why?
Most of us are not hoarders, yet we have so much more stuff these days! Likely we have experienced feeling some level of anxiety around letting go of things. We may not even be very aware of what is around us, and in the case of the hoarder, not see the chaos and unhealthy situation (tripping hazards, mold potential etc.) we are living in. The energy of our thoughts and emotions appear visibly in our outside world. I suspect you wont find a depressed person’s home spotless, tidy and full of light, with vibrant colors and music. I also suspect you wont often find a home of someone who has a truly healthy love for life and themselves to be cramped or cluttered, where the shades stay drawn day in and day out. I wish to suggest an opportunity here. To begin, look with curiosity at friends and family, but ultimately at your own, spaces to see if you find a connection between your observance or what you suspect is the state of mind, and what their homes, cars or office look like. You may not be a psychologist or therapist, but you may have a good sense of what is going on with your friend or family member by not only observing their words and actions, but how they live. What clothes they wear and how they keep the spaces they are in control of, says something about their state as well as their personality. This could be the more nuanced but critical piece in keeping your spaces organized and clean, where you can find what you need and relax or entertain. More than will power, intention or your energy level. It’s my understanding and experience anyway, that why a person can’t seem to stay organized is not about being lazy or not caring, but more about their mental or emotional state or beliefs about themselves or the world. I wondered why some people seem to be disorganized to a certain level - it doesn’t seem to get worse quickly but also they don’t seem to be able to maintain a level of clean they say they want. Things seem to return to a place of equilibrium or normal level of messy for them. Reasons could include not feeling we are good enough, fear of loosing it all or not having enough, the need for “proof” that we are successful, fear of limitations or limited options, fear of missing out, of not having what we need, fear of abandonment, are some possibilities.The most common statement from clients and friends is “what if I need it later?”. Or they have plans for it. Even if those plans have been around for 10 years with no action. Might you be interested in finding out why? To get honest, real and a bit vulnerable in order to find out what is at the deeper, subconscious level of the reason you are living as you are? There are a variety of ways to get some answers and to shift old fears and beliefs. I am trained to help through Energy Codes Coaching and healing, but there is a whole long list of ways one might get some insight and support on this. The emotional piece has a big effect on the getting to and staying organized. If you think you “like” mess and clutter, ask yourself if you prefer going into other peoples homes, stores, or other places of business that are messy, crowded or cluttered. Or if you prefer a store where you can find your way around and find what you are looking for relatively easily. A friend’s home where things are clean and there is a place to sit down for a chat versus one where you have to watch where you step and move things off the chair or couch, table etc. in order to sit down. Likely your “like” of messiness is really just a tolerance of your own mess because it has become what you know, what you are used to. Just like we get used to living on a busy road after a while. The sounds (possibly maintaining a low level stress response) are still there but we take less notice of them. It takes effort to change our space, and ourselves and that seems like too much work. There could even be a reason you don’t think it is safe to have it clean or organized. It might also be true that it is causing more stress and anxiety than you know. Just because we are “used” to an unpleasant situation or person, level of stress or frustration, doesn’t mean it isn’t effecting us long term. We have a local grocery store that I wish to support as it has great produce, local options, wonderful employees and donates back to the community. However, they fill every possible space with other items too, ones that are not typical of a grocery store. And it makes it hard to navigate around, especially with a grocery cart and I get overwhelmed by all the STUFF in that store! So I only go there when I need just a few things and I can be quick. I keep my eyes on the areas I am needing items from like the produce section and have learned to tune out the other. But it is still unpleasant. I disliked going into Toys-R-Us with my young kids because there was just so much to look at, the eye doesn’t know where to land! Same with Walmart. I don’t shop there for a number of reasons, but one is how crowded with stuff, the tall and skinny isles etc. I feel anxious in that store! There is no room to breathe or think! I am working on some short YouTube videos where I talk about organizing steps - but also focused on the mental part as well as the planning and prep. You know what organized and disorganized spaces look like. You also might see images of well organized closets, garage or rooms and feel it is out of reach to you which make you discouraged to ever start. My videos will be focused on the thought processes and feeling into what it is you want. And offer questions or tasks to help get you started. I hope you find them useful and get you off to a good start as you prepare to make some healthy and happy changes for your spaces. Winter and the start of a new year is a great time to start your year off! Good time to do indoor projects in preparation for having more time and energy for outside activities and tasks when the days are longer and warmer! Check it out here… LINK After the holidays, I used to have a bit of anxiety around where to put all the gifts I received. There was also a mixture of gratitude and guilt. I appreciated the giver and the gift, and also longed for less stuff. Luckily over the years my family has done a better job of reducing the number of gifts we exchange. As a bigger clan, we draw names and get one gift for one person rather than a little something for everyone. Some of us request gifts of experiences. That could be a gift card for a service, such as a massage, pedicure or coffee house. Or what I most love, an event in the future that we will do together. Dinner out, a show, an escape room, etc. And to be honest, for my partner who has little time to shop, I will set aside items I have bought for myself (cute socks, a t-shirt, lotion) that I felt funny buying for myself as I was shopping for others, but knew I wanted (maybe needed) and liked! It still feels special to open as I got exactly what was wanted - with no worry that I might need to exchange it! And sometimes, if done well enough in advance, I forget about the items and it is a surprise after all!
Seems timely to be sharing this well written blog post from Credo Mobile (my cell phone carrier) regarding how our individual purchases matter. I would also add that if more of us shop at the eco-friendly businesses that try hard to protect our planet and us, in supporting them it increases their ability to lower prices for all of us. We vote with our wallets people! Really and truly! And even you, yes YOU, make a difference! Check it out - it has some helpful links in it too. Credo's Blog Post Eyes being opened can be a bit like 20/20 vision or hindsight. A different way of seeing things than we experienced before. Which can be felt both as a good feeling and a bad one. For example, my friend wasn’t on board with feeling excited about his new son-in-law. I thought he was missing what a great guy he was and felt bad for everyone that my friend didn’t agree. Perhaps nobody would be quite good enough for his daughter. Of course her last choices had not been exemplary. But I really thought this one was close enough. Not perfect, nobody is. But lately, my eyes have been opened enough to see what my friend may have seen that he didn’t like. Again, nobody is perfect and we all have things we are here to learn and ways in which we can grow and change. If we waited around for the person who always made healthy choices and engaged in ways of being which were always appropriate, we would never partner up. This is probably why love is blind.
But now I see that my own judgement toward my friend was unfair as he could clearly see some things which I didn’t. And I feel like I can read people fairly well. So when I witnessed several different things recently that clued me into another perspective, I was able to look at my own assessment as just that - my assessment. This allowed what was seen by another, which I had missed, as another possibility with some truth embedded in it. This experience was perfect to help me remember that my view is just one view, from one vantage point. Things are likely to be missed. In fact it is inevitable because by definition our vantage point eliminates other vantage points. Simply looking out of our own eyes, even if we can turn our head, we see only what we can view from where we stand. We can’t see below, around a corner, or from the top down. But often, it all feels complete and accurate to us in that moment. Which is fine because otherwise we would not get far or much done in our day fearing we have incomplete information and can’t proceed. it’s not possible to be looking for all perspectives at all times. But you will know when it is important to consider alternatives, because it will matter to your mind, or heart by coming back to your awareness again and again. That is when to step back, pause and reevaluate. It can seem time consuming at first, but the effort is worth it as it will grow those muscle needed and become much easier and quicker in the future. Just the awareness of this is a huge step in the right direction. What should you do or how to start? First try relaxing your judgment, wishes, and expectations. Tune into your heart and the love that resides there. If you were a bird, with no connection to any particular person moving around on the ground below where you were flying, what might you notice? Here is one example. Maybe you see the Mom struggling to put her uncooperative child in the car seat to drive to the store, then during the drive the child wines and cries about not being able to play in the yard, later seeing that same child asking for all the cookies in the store and the mom finally loosing her patience. If you had just been the next shopper over in the cookie isle, you might have made a quick judgement of the Mom that was based on a very small sample size of data. Now be the bird and re-fly over the expanded situation you experienced yourself. Maybe even months or years into the past. Not that you will know exactly what transpired, but you may open your mind to possibilities that you had not considered previously. And see how moments flow into other moments, and even you as the bird, can’t see it all. Things are hidden from your view. By knowing yourself to be both the judge and the judged, and your actions certainly seem reasonable given your previous experiences, know that is the case for everyone. This allows your nervous system to calm to the point you will have much more capacity for empathy, understand, compassion and open heartedness toward others. And toward yourself as well. We are influenced by the world around us, and sometimes we are better at dealing with it than others. It is all part of the journey here on this beautiful planet. Embrace more situations instead of judging them. A freeing sentiment! Every wonder why some situations bother you way more than others? Ever think it obvious that another persons actions or in-actions was lacking consideration or self awareness and think - how could they not see it!? When I am annoyed with someone for their behavior, thinking it rude and inconsiderate, I can allow that to feel true AND know that the “perpetrator” might not be aware nor see it that way. And perhaps they also have something going on under the surface, stress or depression, pain or hopelessness, that effects their decisions.
I am an Enneagram One. So frustration is my go to when triggered or stressed. I can now accept this about myself. If I can’t accept this, then I will deny it and never seek to improve or shift, apologize, or take other action to make things better within myself or with others in my world. But perfection, despite my perfectionist tendencies, is not the goal. People are going to frustrate me at times, and it is not up to the world to behave how I would like it to. In fact, I hope it doesn’t. This is how the world shows ME where or what I need to work on! This is not about beating myself up or feeling I am the bad guy. There is no bad guy. Just expanded awareness opportunities. The more we experience these kinds of things, the better we will be at pausing before we get into full story creations, judge mode or worse, say something hurtful. Until we get really good at it, at which time, we wont need as many situations to present opportunities to practice! That sounds kind of nice, doesn’t it? In this recent frustration, he was taking on the phone, while also taking to people in the kitchen, then took a plate of pancakes, put on the butter and syrup, sat down at the table and started eating while still talking on the phone. Conversations between many trying to happen in the same space as someone who is on the phone just 2 feet away. To me it felt obviously inconsiderate. I could choose to get into all the reasons why this was so, with plenty of other options to handle it better. But I wish to come from love in more life situations and this provided an opportunity to practice. So I watched my thoughts, my reactions and just kept myself as the observer and did some intentional breathing. Not staying neutral per say, as I had many opinions in my head about it, but didn’t say anything out loud. I wanted to first dig deeper into why it bothered me so much and to what, if anything, was the appropriate and helpful thing to do or say, either in the moment, or later. So I dug down. Besides feeling inconsiderate, If I was honest, it also added to my “proof” in my belief that some in this family are often clueless of their impact on others around them, which can feel to me to be selfish and self centered. Very loving, helpful, generous people at the same time. How could both be true? All families have their things. Both enjoyable and endearing while also having those things, maybe even the same ones, be challenging as well! This is the dualistic nature of living in the 3rd dimension and our classroom for experimenting, trying out different ways of being and doing, and learning more about ourselves just as much as about others and the nature of the world around us. Digging a little deeper I had the thought - do I look for these flaws in defense of my feelings about my own family? Which is not nearly as close. Still loving, helpful, generous with each other and the larger community. But we have some estrangement in our family and don’t spend nearly as much time connecting. So maybe I was just looking for ways to soften the comparison and the desire that my family be different, through fault finding somewhere else. And bingo! There lies the crux of my frustration. Not as much as the act itself, which still could also be inconsiderate, but more frustrating for me because of all these other things. My thoughts created the discomfort and frustration much much more than the act itself. And I can own that. And get better at noticing this in order to turn down the level on my frustration meter sooner. By practicing my breath work (offered through the Energy Codes) when things are calm and fine so that I can do it when triggered, and by remembering that there may be more to my feelings and waiting to look at things after the fact (or not), I can push the pause button then and there. This allows much more room for comfort in the moment and less stress hormone released into my system. So worth it as I am a much happier person and don’t ruminate nearly as long on things that bothered me. Which is huge! Much of our time is spent thinking about the past, or planning or worrying about the future. Breath work practices and learning to look at things differently, really shift the amount of time spent thinking unpleasant thoughts; thoughts which translate to stress hormones in the body. Calming the mind and avoiding getting activated, can ultimately provide a better internal state, and thus improved health and well being. I love to share these practices with others! My wish is for more and more human beings to be able to live in a calmer state more often. Think about what our world would be like if this were the case. Sounds, nice, doesn’t it? Byron Katie’s book “A Mind at Home with Itself” offers much and is well worth the read or listen (like I prefer to do) but I wanted to offer a very short cliff note type blog here of her four questions. These questions are used to really look at what ever is upsetting you. It is a way to dig deeper into the reality of the situation. And to notice how your suffering has so much to do with your thoughts about a situation, rather than the situation itself.
In her book she provides real examples with real people that she walks through the process. It is always helpful to have those real examples to really get a better understanding and be able to use it for yourself. So again, I offer this as a wetting of the appetite for learning more. The idea is you write down your frustrations about a person, situation, event etc. I wont go into those initial prompts here but things like naming the person and/or thing that is bothering you, why and what you would like to be different to help you feel better. Then you take those statements you wrote down and ask these four questions about each of them. The four questions, to ask yourself in order, are:
It is a bit like Brené Brown’s shitty first draft. This is where you write out what is bothering you without editing yourself. The time to really get petty, use childish words and name calling or what ever is authentic to your experience. This is not meant for anyone else’s eyes. It is a first dump. No censoring or editing yet. After those “immature” and “unkind” thoughts are given some space or have a place to express out, then the intense fire behind them will naturally die down and we can then have more access to the heart and gut for assessing or analyzing things. This is where we have more capacity to be honest with our answers to the four questions. My therapist used to ask similar questions in sessions and those did help to be able to get a vantage point from beyond the feeling/belief/statement. This can be so powerful if done well. As we shine a light on ourselves, we see more clearly. After all, the only place we have control is within. Where we saw the other person was to blame and wanted to point fingers, we can more easily see things from a more expanded perspective. Just like Jesus stating that when we point a finger at another, there are 3 fingers pointing back at us. There is wisdom in looking at things differently. After all, thinking the same way has probably only given you more of what you don’t want. When I sat down to write about a current frustration or recent situation with my partner in order to use Katie’s four questions, I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome. At first though, resistance. Resistance to letting go of my anger, hurt and beliefs about what happened. Because it felt right! Yet it wasn’t comfortable and really, didn’t make total sense. What I mean is I couldn’t see his logic or how he could possible think what I had said was worth getting so upset about. Part of us holds onto the righteousness of our anger. Because at first we feel so attached to our assessment and beliefs. We trust that we understood and continue to unpack things with those beliefs because it feels like truth to us. Those 4 questions that Byron Katie offers open us up to alternatives and pokes holes into our iron clad reasoning. It shows where we are assuming, projecting, or simply misunderstanding the person or situation. I wrote out my beliefs and understandings, in other words my reaction to the situation and to my partner in this most recent case. Please note that writing has a power that thought does not. Our mind will convince us so quickly that we don’t even have room for re-assessing, and we wont notice this by just thinking the thoughts over and over. But put it down in writing, and you can easily see some holes, some projections, and perhaps where the other person is mirroring you - meaning actually you are doing/being that way, to the same or more degree! So I wrote my statements out onto the page, without editing or censoring. Here is one example I can share… “Doug is sensitive to the negative and goes there quickly, seeing all things relating to a situation that prove his upset without asking questions, or trying a tool he has learned. He shuts down and no amount of love and gentleness shifts it. I have to get angry, sad or upset for him to finally soften.” First question, is it true? Yes. (seems true to me!) Second question, Can I absolutely know that it’s true? No. It is my assessment, but I can’t absolutely know it to be true. Third question, How do I react, what happens when I believe that thought? Well I do the same! I assume I know and understand, I assume he is being unreasonable and wrongly seeing things, I see his unwillingness to get to a better place and then I don’t want to either! I feel justified in my anger, after all I tried first! Fourth question, Who would I be without the thought? I would be free to ask questions, use reflective listening, maybe a relationship wheel (tool). I would be curious and kind. I would be calm, reflective and seeking understanding - of him and of myself. I’d be my best self! Wow. I choose that last one! It is how I want my partner to be as well! Or something similar anyway. So if I am not being that, how can I expect it of him? Try asking those 4 questions of any situation or person you are struggling with. If you can relax, breathe and be honest with yourself, you might just be surprised at your answers. I know I was! Please let me know if you were able to try this and what your experience was. The more of us that can heal our own lives in both small and large ways, one frustration at a time, the more our world expands in love and joy! ![]() Someone recently recommended to me the book “The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning. How to Free yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter” by Margareta Magnusson. I had never heard of it. So I put a hold on the audio book from my local library. It came up as ready to listen to just days after the death of my Father-in-law. I wished I had been able to suggest this book to my in-laws prior to his passing. The author, who was in her 80’s at least when she wrote it back in 2018, is quite funny and prioritizes like I do. Although she is not a fan of hiring help with downsizing! She thinks services like mine are expensive when considering you want to do this slowly with thoughtfulness. So maybe there is one thing we would disagree on. Not that you need to do it fast without thinking it through. Doing it slowly with a great deal of thoughtfulness is best for sure. AND there are many folks out there that will never take the time to do it that way. Sometimes, not always I realize, doing something quickly without getting too in your head about it, works quite well. It is my belief, that if you truly need something, it will find it’s way to you. So not giving or throwing things away because “I might need it someday” can fill up your spaces fast. Possibly cost you a lot of money as well. Way more than buying something again down the road should you indeed need it. Especially if you don’t remember you had it or can’t find it and buy it again anyway. Her main point is - do you really want to burden your family with ALL your stuff when you die? Obviously we need some stuff. But a house filled to the brim with stuff is an overwhelming and burdensome gift to leave those you love and care about. So thinking of them now is a gift you can give from beyond. Have you seen how many storage rental businesses there are around in your community? Americans are BIG consumers! It’s an addiction. And like most addictions, not a healthy one. We have so much stuff we can’t even store it in our homes that we have to spend money to rent space to store it! Wise? Cheap? No. This is when hiring help is cheaper than not! We are destroying our health, our lives and our planet - all at the same time - with all our STUFF! The items we keep and the items we throw away every day - plastic being the main thing. But food, clothes etc. The fashion industry has come under great scrutiny about the impact on the earth. And those companies that sell the clothes who are tossing returned items because it is cheaper than re-stocking them! When will it stop? Well maybe when we learn something from this Swedish death cleaning woman for a start. She suggest decluttering throughout your life, not waiting until you are closer to a likely departure. After all, none of us know when exactly that will be. Decluttering and donating or gifting (or tossing) sooner rather than later, is just wise and kind. Less to clutter you now, and less work for your family members to have to deal with when your times comes. I am happy to help you downsize, de-clutter, get organized, to be enjoyed at the time and well into the future! It really is a good feeling to know what you have, be able to find it, and be free of piles of things, duplicates or items spread out everywhere. I bet many of us could get a second kitchen up and running without missing much from our own! Open a drawer or two in your kitchen and if you can’t see what is in there in about 10 seconds, you could benefit from my services. Or the book at least. It’s imperative that you do what resonates with you - what brings you true joy. What lights you up. Why? Because it heals. You and humanity. Don’t put it off. We need your light, NOW!
If you were to watch an episode of the Netflix show “The Home Edit”, notice the genuine and authentic joy that the two hosts (Clea and Joanna) can’t contain when their client walks into the transformed space. They literally jump and squeal with joy. Those two LOVE what they do (I can totally relate!) What if everyone loved their work THAT much!? I want to live in that world! If you want to help create a better world, start with yourself. You can only really control or change you. Your responsibility toward this desire is to find what brings you joy. When you can truly be happy (not just putting on a happy face) you increase happiness in the world. Be yourself, shine your light and share joy with humanity. Joy, like a pebble tossed in a pond, ripples out and out and out. It is also healing. Joyful people are less likely to get sick. Being joyful and feeling good, means less stress, better self care and a more robust immune system. When we are healthy we are then more available and have more energy for our families, friends and community. This is why it is not selfish at all to do what lights you up. Our bodies try to tell us things, but we don’t always listen. An ailment points to a belief, conscious or unconscious, that is needing attention. When you chose YOU, through joy and happiness, you are more fully embodying your true essence, which can “magically” heal a physical issue. Check out this short but wonderful interview on “The HEAL podcast” with Reverend Micheal Beckwith which gives a wonderful example of this. (link below) I ask… What lights you up? What makes you smile so big it is contagious? Do more of that! Not only can I eat the pasta made with Italian flour from Wildly Beloved Foods, these pasta all taste amazing! With so few ingredients, it leads me to believe there is more to the story.
Everything is made of energy. Everything IS energy. Food give us energy to continue functioning in our day. Thoughts we think vibrate at a frequency that can be measured. Happy or joyful thoughts vibrate at higher frequencies than sad or angry thoughts. Try this. Think a happy thought and notice what you are feeling in your body. Then think an unhappy thought. Again notice what that feels like in the body. Did your energy seem to shift? Thinking about doing something fun gives you energy and gets your feet moving. Think about something you would rather not do or have been avoiding, and it can be hard to get up out of the chair to move toward doing it. Right? We now know that when animals are traumatized right before they are killed, their meat can be tougher as the adrenaline rushed through their system and stayed there upon death. And that makes chemical sense. But also, we have all experienced the enhanced enjoyment of eating food made by someone we love or whom loves us, or whom enjoys the act of cooking. And as the saying goes, never eat food prepared by an angry person. The energies of the food, the person handling the food and your own energies at the moment, seem to effect the level of enjoyment. Maybe it should not surprise us that food made with love, joy and passion wouldn’t taste better than food created by machines with no thoughts at all. Perhaps food made by mechanical means could benefit by the loving intention of employees as the food moves out of the warehouse and into stores to be brought home by consumers to eat. You can bless your food at any point but has been done for hundreds of years by saying a blessing at the beginning of a meal. Maybe there is more value to this practice than we thought. You can even share gratitude with it all when it is still sitting in your grocery bag before it gets put away into the kitchen. I was doing this during COVID to ensure all was safe to bring into my home and for my body. But I should not have stopped that practice because really it is always my desire to be safe, healthy and well nourished by the food I eat. The owner of Wildly Beloved Foods in my town has a real passion for her pasta and has turned her passion into a thriving business in a very short amount of time. Her ambition and passion got her this far this fast. And, I believe, her love of what she is creating gets literally infused into her pasta. So much so that I notice when I eat it. The word love is even in the company name. Reminds me of Dr. Emoto’s water experiment. He observed that where varying thoughts were sent by a group to water and then the water was frozen and photographed, the higher frequency thoughts of love came through in the images as beautiful crystalline structures. The thoughts of hate came through as distorted and ugly, sick looking crystals. If the water had been also tasted, would there would have been a difference? Just a moment of appreciation directed to the food in your shopping bags goes a long way. Sending love to the food you prepare is good to, and if cooking for loved ones, you don’t even have to do more as it is already inherent in the efforts and thoughts (energy). Eating foods from local growers and manufacturers are tastier because they are fresher but also, I believe, simply because loving human hands handled the food during it’s creation. Maybe even purchased directly from them, enhancing it further. The chef coming to your table at a restaurant to ask how the food was, helps both the chef and the customer experience. As I taste the amazing flavors of local foods, I am in appreciation that my meal is not only sustaining me and the planet, that it is uplifting me in that moment through the delicious taste, aroma, and overall experience of it! That higher vibration I generate ripples out into the world. Slowing down to enjoy and appreciate your food can make a difference in the whole of our human experience. And after all, we are what we eat, right? Choose wisely and share gratitude for it and where it came from. What has been your experience around food? Please share below! This may be a bit off topic, but it may be of long-term importance. After years of digestive issues and extreme discomfort, bloated belly and major frustration, I stopped eating gluten even though I didn’t test allergic to it, and felt SO much better. Recently, I have confirmed to myself that I am not allergic to gluten but rather to US wheat. It has been stated that the modified wheat germ of the US in no way resembles what it did just 50 years ago. I think my body can’t recognize parts of those modified molecules and so reacts to this “unknown” through an inflammatory response. After eliminating gluten, I have also eliminated brain fog along with the perpetual gas, loose bowels and the like. When traveling in European countries I have been able to eat their bread and baked goods with no adverse effects.
I also recently discovered Einkorn Flour, an ancient grain, that I also tolerate just fine. It is naturally lower in gluten but not gluten free. Next came a local pasta maker that imports her wheat direct from Italy. She had sold some of her noodle using Einkorn flour and I first tried that with no adverse effects. But when that flour became cost prohibitive and she stopped making pasta from it, I ventured to try her Italian wheat pastas. To my great delight, I found I could eat that just fine as well! (Her pasta is amazing and the subject of another blog post in the works.) I hadn’t tried the made in Italy dried pasta at the grocery store until this week. I gave it a test run., and… fine! How wonderful! Despite the much improved options for gluten free items, I now know that if something is not available or a gluten free option is a very poor substitute, I can look for other options that are from European wheat. Not likely a lot out there yet, but things change quickly these days and I am confident I am not the only “gluten free” eater that has discovered this. It is always nice to have more options to some extent (too many and we can’t choose) but the real aha is the fact that as the industry continue to modify our food to be more resistant to pests, to hold up better getting to market, to be brighter in color, not have seeds, or what have you, it could be inadvertently contributing to the rise is health issues for some of us. I know strawberries, even organic, big and beautiful, are almost tasteless any more unless you buy them from a local farmer. Combined with the fact that most fresh strawberries come in non-recyclable clamshell plastic containers, I so rarely buy them. Only from local farmers in season or else frozen (in a ziplock bag I can reuse many times over) although even those are lower in taste than what I remember from when I was young. So at what cost are we supposedly “improving” some of our basic food building blocks such as wheat? To quote Dr. Malcom from the movie Jurassic Park “Your scientist were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should”. |
AuthorBringer of Light and Love. Transformation Facilitator. Lover of Mother Earth & Nature Archives
June 2024
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